Thank you again for reading and reviewing! :) #HuluBringBackUglyBetty
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The funeral service was similar to Daniel's father's - lots of people, lots of media coverage surrounding the closed ceremony at the church. Betty could tell that Daniel was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the questions he was receiving as they made their way inside. At one point, he took her hand and didn't let go until it was time for him to get up and speak. When he sat back down, his hand automatically went to hers again until he and the rest of the pallbearers needed to perform their duty.
It was nice . . . being needed by Daniel again. Obviously, the circumstances were horrible. But knowing he trusted her enough to lean on her meant so much. She felt like they were finally making their way back to each other as close friends.
"Hey, you ready to go?" Daniel asked, absently running his thumb over her knuckles.
"Yeah," she nodded.
"You wanna get some coffee before we head back to work?" he offered.
"Sure. But you don't have to go back to work today, Daniel. You're allowed to take the day off," Betty reminded him.
"I can't, Betty. I know you're trying to help and I really appreciate it, but like I said before, I need to be doing something," he said.
"Okay. But I don't think your mind is truly going to be focused today. Why don't we get some coffee and I'll take you up on that movie?" she suggested, unsure if it was really a good idea or not. She knew he'd be no use at work, though. And he certainly didn't need to be alone – not when he couldn't even let go of her hand.
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"Chinese is here!" Betty said, setting the containers on the coffee table and sitting beside Daniel on the sectional in her new apartment. "I really liked the movie. It was kind of confusing at first since I haven't seen any of the other ones, but it was good. Iron Man was my favorite."
"Who knew you had such a big crush on Robert Downey Jr.? Honestly, I thought Chris Evans was more your type. I'd never have guessed you had a thing for bad boys," he teased. "Now I know which movie we're starting with first to catch you up."
"I do not have a crush on him – or a thing for bad boys!" Betty insisted, bumping him from the side. "Well . . . maybe a little."
"You laughed at practically everything he said in the movie or got that look on your face like you wanted to jump him he was so sexy," he maintained.
"Daniel, that is so not true! And since when do you know that look?" she countered.
"I know all of your looks, Betty," he told her, staring at her with flirting eyes. "I've seen that one multiple times before – you drooling over other guys," he said.
"Okay . . . That's embarrassing," she stared at the ground.
"Betty, it's natural. You saw me checking out hundreds of girls before," Daniel excused. "It's not a big deal. Besides, you're so cute when you have a crush!" he continued to goad her.
"Daniel . . ." Betty playfully shoved his chest in protest.
He caught her hand and held it, turning serious.
"Thank you for today . . . for being there for me when I needed you," he told her and put his arms around her. They stayed like that for a few minutes.
"Hey . . . Are you okay?" she asked, concerned, as she pulled back a little, their faces mere inches apart.
"Yeah," he claimed, brushing the hair away from her face and gazing at her for a moment. "Your eyes are really beautiful . . . They were always beautiful, but I can see them better now that you aren't wearing glasses."
"Thank you," she blushed. "So are yours, even when they're sad. I'm so sorry you lost your friend."
"Me, too. Seems like I've been losing a lot of them the past few years – either metaphorically or physically. Not that I had that many to begin with," he observed.
"You still have me . . . I know it doesn't make up for everyone else, but I'm here - always," she promised.
They both hesitated then Daniel leaned in, their lips almost touching when Betty pulled away.
"Daniel, we can't," she reminded him.
"I know," he sighed in frustration. "Betty, I'm sorry."
"It's, okay, Daniel. It's been a long day," she said, understanding. "Why don't we just watch the movie?"
"Okay," he said, pressing 'play' on the remote and picking up the container of sweet 'n' sour chicken. He took a few bites, then handed it back to Betty.
"Can I trade places with Gwyneth Paltrow?" Betty swooned, staring at Tony Stark.
Daniel chuckled as he picked through another container.
"I've created a monster by taking you to that movie," he teased. "Now you'll start comparing every other guy to your celebrity crush."
"I already did that anyway, Daniel," she admitted.
"With who? Lance Bass?" he tormented.
"No . . . you," she timidly revealed.
"Oh," he nervously cleared his throat.
"I-I shouldn't have said that. I wasn't thinking," she said, her face red.
"Don't worry about it, Betty. It's not like you're the only one who's had an inappropriate celebrity crush," he hinted.
"Who?" she questioned. "Selma Hayek?"
Daniel shook his head and kept staring at her.
"Me? Daniel, I'm not a celebrity," she insisted.
"Are you sure about that, Tornado Girl?" he playfully challenged.
Betty smacked him with a pillow.
"Seriously, Betty, within the past few years you've become really well-known in the publishing business. People are just as interested in you as they are in me," Daniel told her.
"Really? I guess you could be right . . . I never thought of myself like that. I just thought everyone stared and pointed at me because I spilled something on my top or was trailing toilet paper from my shoe," she admitted.
Daniel smiled lovingly at her.
"What?" she asked, puzzled.
"Nothing. I was just thinking," he covered.
"Glad to see you're still making that a habit," she teased.
Daniel chuckled and threw a fortune cookie at her. Betty threw one back.
"'Everything will get better with time'," she opened her cookie.
"'The choices you make now will impact your future'," Daniel read. "Both pretty much state the obvious, don't they?"
"Yeah," Betty agreed.
"Wanna finish the movie?" he asked.
"Sure," she smiled and settled in on the couch.
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Betty slowly woke up the next morning, refusing to open her eyes just yet. She was glad it was Saturday, because she really needed a break from everything – death, drama, Daniel. It was strange how all of her problems started with Ds. She was comfortable, yet she could tell she wasn't in her bed. Whatever she was lying on continued to slightly rise up and down every few seconds and faintly smelled of familiar, expensive cologne. Her eyes popped open when she finally made the connection. Daniel!
"Daniel!" she exclaimed, shaking him gently. "Daniel, you have to wake up!"
"Betty, leave me alone. It's the weekend," he mumbled and turned away from her.
"Daniel, I need you to wake up," she insisted.
"Baby, please let me sleep," he pleaded.
Her heart skipped a beat at the term of endearment, but she only focused on it for a brief moment. Now was not the time to obsess over the inappropriate nickname Daniel had given her. She needed to get him out of the apartment before someone saw him.
"Daniel, you shouldn't be here. You should be home, in your own apartment," Betty told him. "Daniel!"
"What?!" he exclaimed as he shot up, fully awake.
"Daniel, listen to me," she said, sensing he was still disoriented.
"Betty, it's Saturday. Why the hell are you waking me up?" he groaned, rubbing his eyes.
"Daniel, what if someone catches you here?" Betty worried.
"Who? Do you know anyone in this building who knows me, too?" he asked.
Betty thought for a moment.
"No, not really," she said. "Okay, fine. Go back to sleep. I'll be in my bed."
"Is that an invitation?" he flirted.
"Daniel, I hope you were kidding. Because if you weren't, I think you seriously need to re-evaluate your life right now," Betty warned. "I mean just the fact that we slept on the couch together makes me nervous. Is Maggie really going to believe that nothing happened between us when I woke up literally on top of you?"
"Relax, Betty. It was a joke," he swore. "I want you to know that I'm not the kind of guy who would cheat on his girlfriend."
"Good," she sighed, relieved. Only, the way he tried to assure her seemed as if he was promising that he'd never do that to her either. Maybe she was overanalyzing everything.
"Maggie's not going to have a problem with me sleeping here because she's not going to find out," he told her.
"Wait. Daniel, you have to tell her!" Betty insisted, shocked that he was considering not to.
"Why, Betty? So she can freak out and obsess over nothing? Nothing happened. We watched a movie, we fell asleep. I don't want to upset her when we did nothing wrong," he reasoned.
"Okay. I just know that if I were Maggie, and you apparently did 'nothing wrong' with a girl you used to be in love with, I'd want to know. I wouldn't want to have any secrets with the man that I loved," she advised him to tell the truth.
There was an awkward silence.
"She doesn't know," Daniel quietly revealed.
"What?" Betty asked in disbelief.
"She doesn't know about you and me and what almost was between us," he clarified.
"Daniel, how could you not have told her that?!" she yelled.
"It's not exactly like there's a good time to tell your girlfriend that you're working with someone who you almost m-" he stopped himself.
"Almost what, Daniel? Was the 'M' word what I think it was? Did you plan on -" Betty questioned, shocked and feeling even guiltier than she ever had before if that word was what she thought it was.
"Let it go, Betty – it's doesn't matter anymore!" Daniel snapped.
Betty lowered her head in shame and bit her lip to keep from crying. She took a breath and focused on the present conflict.
"Daniel, you can't do this to Maggie – to anyone. You're not directly lying to her, but you're lying by omission. Is that how you would want to be treated?" Betty asked.
"No . . . but it's complicated," Daniel defended. "I just don't want to hurt her or worry her unnecessarily."
"Daniel, it's your relationship. You can say or not say whatever you want. But I'm just telling you that I don't agree with the way you're handling it, for whatever my opinion's worth," she said and went back to bed.
When Betty woke up again, Daniel was gone. She wasn't sure whether to take that as a good or a bad thing. She tried not to think about it all. If he wanted to lie to his girlfriend, that was his business. Maybe it was a good thing she'd decided not to be with Daniel. Who knows what he'd hide from her. She shook her head and began to make plans to be with her family.
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Monday came and Betty worried again about how Daniel had taken her budding into his relationship. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. But she couldn't help speaking her mind if she knew she could save him from getting hurt or hurting someone else. Not to mention, she felt partially to blame, since she was the one who had gotten Daniel through Becks' death. It was her apartment that he had slept at, her body that had slept on top of him – unintentionally of course, and her lips that Daniel had almost kissed.
She knew that Daniel wasn't falling for her again. She had just been there, and he had been vulnerable and confused. If Marc had taken her place, Daniel probably would've hugged him and cried on his shoulder. Regardless, she was the one who had been there for Daniel, and she did feel guilty for what had happened and for hiding it from Maggie.
When Daniel came into her office, Betty was prepared to confront him. Only Daniel managed to speak first.
"I told Maggie . . . about us," he announced.
"Oh," Betty said, surprised that he'd taken her advice.
"So now she knows everything," he said.
"Everything?" she repeated.
"Yeah . . . you and me six years ago and you and me the other day," he confirmed.
"How did she take it?" Betty asked.
"She, um, she was upset. You were right . . . I should've told her to begin with," he admitted. "But she's willing to work it out."
"I'm sorry, Daniel," she told him.
"Yeah," he scoffed.
"No, I really am sorry," Betty insisted then, tried her best to be positive. "It's good that she still wants to be with you, right?"
"Yeah . . . yeah, it's good," he agreed, halfheartedly.
"But . . .?" she prompted, sensing he was leaving something out.
"But one of her conditions is she . . . she, uh, she doesn't want me to see you anymore," he reluctantly revealed.
